“That’s it,” Dad says as he looks up and meets my eyes. “Let’s go save your girl.”
We don’t waste a second. The Torviks mobilize like the army they’ve always been.
Henrik raids the prop room—grabs two blunt swords and a crowbar. “Better than nothing.”
Vivi rips the first-aid kit from the wall. “Just in case.”
Henrik grabs a knife from the prop rack. “Doubt the edge is real, but the point’ll do.”
Mom snatches duct tape, gloves, a blanket.
Dad grabs some extra silks, testing them out between his hands, ready to wrap them around Phoenix’s neck. His eyes meet mine. “You ready?”
“Let’s go,” I growl.
The night feels deadly as we step out of the theater into the parking garage. It all feels familiar, just like my childhood back in Brooklyn. Blood will be spilt tonight, and not a single member of this family is hesitating.
Einar’s tires squeal as he skids to a stop in the rental SUV. Mom and Henrik pile into it. Dad, Mormor, and Aunt Vivi follow me into my car.
I put the GPS on the car display and hit the gas as I point us out of the parking garage. The radio’s off. The only sound is the hum of the engine and my heartbeat clawing its way up my throat.
Everything I’ve built—every illusion, every lie, every mask—came crashing down tonight. And for what? For the one person I can’t live without.
If she’s gone?—
Fuck. I can’t think that.
I grip the wheel tighter, eyes locked on the road ahead.
For the entire stretch until we reach the city’s limits, it’s quiet except for the hum of tires and the roar of my engine. But the silence is heavy, and the weight of the reality of who is in the car with me isn’t something I can ignore.
“How’d you even find me?” My voice sounds scraped out.
From the back seat, Vivi chokes, even though she’s not eating or drinking shit.
“Yeah, Vivi,” my father asks, his tone shifting. “Tell Lucky how we found him.”
“Fuck you, brother,” she barks, but something in her tone is wrong.
I glance at her in the rearview. “What?”
“What does that mean?” Mormor asks, glaring from her daughter to her son.
Vivi’s expression goes paler in the mirror, but she looks out the window. “You’re not going to like it.”
“Of course I’m not,” I say, my old barbs resurfacing. “You guys came in and blew up my show and my life. But, how about you try me?”
In the mirror, she raises an eyebrow at me and gives me this little look. “You asked,” she says with the shrug of one shoulder. She turns to Mormor. “You remember that magician guy on TikTok? The one with the mask?”
“The what now?” Mormor asks.
Something cold drops in my gut.
“I’ve been following him for years. On all the platforms. You remember him, Ma. The hot one that goes shirtless. The horns and the halo?”
Oh fuck.
“I’m a big fan,” Vivi says, and I could just about die.
